Many things changed when I took up residence here at Elder House. Almost all of them good. (I am considering a scary stalker-type murder of the incredibly loud woman who lives at the end of the hall, however.) Actually I made a secret vow that I would never be cold again. Granted, this winter has been frighteningly mild compared to last year, and so the comparison is not entirely fair. Last year February looked like this:
And this was before it got really deep. By the end of the BIG STORM my faithful Ancient Vehicle was glaciered in under a pile of snow as high as Mommy Dearest's garage. Today it looks more like this:
Not nearly as big and bad. And it's supposed to melt by Thursday.
So, it might very well be apples and oranges. But, attempting to sleep with blankets wrapped around my head and ultimately waking with a face frozen in my own drool was decidedly unpleasant. I blogged about it and later learned that mucho offense was taken. Ah, well. Add it to the list. All I meant was I was fuckin' cold!!!
I moved here in late April and the heat wasn't turned on til, maybe late October. It was chilly and I had my vow to consider. I wore an old sweater to bed and scootched close to the wall. Those big old bricks REALLY do radiate heat back in the dark. I was pleasantly warm.
Now it's mid February. Heat's on. Sometimes so much so that I slide the window open at night. The room is almost instantly filled with brisk, clear air. I snuggle down and breathe deeply. Quiet and delicious. After a few minutes I feel the gel foam that is my cheek start to go numb. Then the message reaches the sensors in my brain. The ones that say: Danger, Will Robinson!
Yeah, just like that. And I reach up and slide the window shut. BECAUSE I CAN! And I feel heat wafting up ever so gently without a sound. BECAUSE IT DOES! And I am warm, warm, warm. Some days I wake up with the non-pillowed side of my nose crackly with roasted snot. But, hey, we all pay a price for things, eh?
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